Eighty per cent area of the country has received normal or above normal rainfall this year. According to the Met Department, which had made similar rain forecast at the start of the Monsoon, the entire country is set to receive above normal rainfall at 106% (+/- 4%). “From June 1 to July 31, we had rainfall of around 100 per cent. Only in July the rainfall was 107% which is equal to what we had forecasted earlier, DS Pai, director, Met department, told CNBC-TV18. Pai said that 51 per cent area of the country received below normal rain, while the rest of the area witnessed normal or above rainfall. And even the areas, which has received low rainfall so far, are catching up. In July, almost all regions have got normal or above normal rain, he added.

According to Pai, North-West region of the country received 109% rainfall, while for North East region it was 100 per cent. The Central region, which received less rainfall in June, had about 18 per cent above normal rainfall in the last month. Only Southern region of the country received less rainfall (-10 %) in July, though it had received more rainfall in the month of June. Gujarat and Saurashtra have received low rainfall this season. However, the region has received good rain in the last few days and this is expected to continue. In Odisha, which has 20% less rainfall this season, low pressure over the Bay of Bengal may bring in more rain in the coming days.

Heavy rainfall has thrown life out of gear at many places in the country. In states like Bihar and Assam, about 30 people have lost their lives due to flood, while several localities in cities like Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bengaluru have been water logged.